Here And Now
by iltep
Summary: Death may be all of their undoing.
1. Author's Note

Author's Note:

This story ignores certain things in the series and messes with the timeline a little. There will be a few minor crossovers from other shows and have a couple of original characters. No money was made from this story and I don't own any part of the show; even if that would be really cool.


	2. She Fucking Hates Me

"Garcia, please!" the brunette's voice was pitched to nearly a whine.

Garcia put on her most sympathetic face as she tried to comfort her friend, "Maybe you should just say something. If you want my advice, I think you should walk up, profess your love, and then lay on a heart stopping kiss."

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Yeah. Hotch would probably fire me. And I'd most likely be brought up on sexual harassment charges."

They were both focused on each other so neither of them noticed the door being slowly eased shut without a sound and the person who had been at the door go back down the hall.

Garcia sat back and tapped a brightly colored pen against her desk, "Why not start small then. Try to be friends. Ask to go get drinks after work or something."

Emily grinned at her friend, "I think that's a great idea." she jumped from her chair and gave Garcia a tight hug, "You're the best. I gotta get back to my desk. I'll talk to you later."

Emily turned and left the room feeling better. Garcia had given her a good piece of advice and she intended to take it. On her way back to her desk she stopped when she saw Morgan holding a crying JJ. She noticed the others had made themselves scarce in respect and thought about doing the same, but felt she should make some effort to find out what was happening to the blonde. She walked up to them and cautiously laid her hand on JJ's shoulder. She frowned in confusion and hurt when JJ flinched away from her touch and Morgan lifted his head to glare at her. She took a step back and dropped her hand, "Is everything okay?"

Morgan's voice was harsh as he pulled JJ in closer to him, "No, but its nothing that concerns you."

He led JJ away and they got onto the elevator. As the doors closed, Emily watched as Morgan continued to glare at her while whispering comforting words to JJ. And JJ never once looked up at her.

* * *

Three months later found Emily once again seated in Garcia's office, begging for advice, "I tried to do what you said. I asked her to get a drink and she's always busy or too tired. I tried to talk to her on the plane, but she wants to look over her notes. I don't know what's going on. She won't even talk to me any more. She barely even looks at me now. I've tried to be her friend and she acts like she fucking hates me."

Emily dropped her head into her hands and sighed, "And to top things off, I've managed to piss off Morgan too. He glares at me all the time and when he talks to me he's very curt."

Garcia frowned at this, "He hasn't said anything about it to me. He usually tells me this kind of thing."

Their conversation was interrupted by Emily's phone, "Yeah, Reid?"

"Okay, I'll be right there."

She hung up the phone and looked at Garcia as she stood to go, "Reid wants my help going over some old case notes. I'll see you later."

Garcia waved as she left. She waited a few moments then dialed her own phone, "Are you busy?"

"Good. I want your cute buns in my office now."

"Because, my chocolate Adonis, we need to talk."

* * *

After Garcia sent Morgan on his way with his word that he would keep his mouth shut, Garcia started on her work while she planned out how to ensure Emily got her shot at happiness with the one she loved.

* * *

None of the team thought anything of it when Prentiss's phone rang. What caught their attention is when she gasped loudly and dropped the phone to the desk. They all stared in surprise when she began to sob. Reid approached her slowly and was just about to lay his hand on her shoulder when she shot upright. She stumbled out of her chair with a gasped, "Oh god, Garcia." She then started to run in the direction of Garcia's office.

The team follwed her at a slower pace and found Prentiss and Garcia openly sobbing in each others arms. Confused, but not wanting to tresspass on a private moment, the team backed out and returned to their desks.

"What do you think that was about?" Reid questioned.

The others all shrugged and admitted to having no clue. They sat in tense silence until Prentiss returned to the room with Garcia behind her. She cleared her throat and spoke in a heavily wavering voice, "Garcia and I are going to go home. Something terrible has happened to a friend of ours and we don't think we'll be of much use here right now."

Hotch nodded, "Of course. If you need to take some time off just call tomorrow and let me know."

Emily smiled slightly, "Thanks, Hotch."

Emily turned to go and saw JJ glaring at her. As she looked into the cold closed off face she felt the tears start again and staggered toward Garcia and the elevator. Morgan frowned and stepped forward, "Would you like a ride? I'm not sure if either of you should be driving right now."

They just nodded and he followed them down. When they were on the way to Garcia's house he looked at each of them in turn. Garcia sat beside him crying silently and Emily was in the back seat staring out the window with a lost look on her face. Wanting to help in some way he spoke softly, "If you want to talk about it, I'm a pretty good listener."

At first he thought they were going to stay silent, but Emily's was suddenly floated from the backseat. Her voice was nearly a whisper and he could hear the pain in it, "Her name was Sara."

* * *

It had been two days since Morgan had taken Garcia and Emily home. They had both called in requesting time off and told Hotch that they would be flying to Vegas at the end of the week to go to the funeral. Hotch had easily given them the leave and wished them a safe flight. Wanting to visit her friend before she left, JJ drove to Penelope's house and knocked on the door. She smiled warmly when the door began to open only to have it fall when she saw who had answered it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked harshly.

Emily sighed, "Penelope didn't want to be alone and neither did I. I'm staying with her until the funeral. She's not here right now. She went to the store."

JJ frowned, "When will she be back?"

Emily shrugged, "I don't know. She just left a few minutes ago. I'd offer to let you come in and wait, but this isn't my house and quite honestly, I don't want to be around you right now."

JJ just gaped in surprise as the door was closed in her face. Her surprise quickly turned to anger and she pounded on the door until it opened again. She pushed her way inside before Emily could stop her and strode into the living room. She faced Emily with her hands on her hips, "What the hell do you mean you don't want to be around me? I came over here to be a good friend to you and Garcia and you treat me like…"

Emily's humorless laugh interrupted her, "A good friend? That's bullshit. You don't know how to be a good friend. At least not to me."

JJ stomped to stand directly in front of Emily, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Emily pushed past her to drop down on the sofa, "Look, I'm tired and strung out. I just lost a friend and I'm not in the mood to deal with you. Can we do this later?"

"No. We'll do this now. What did you mean?"

Emily looked up and JJ nearly took a step back at the sadness in her eyes, "I mean that I've done everything I can to be your friend and you keep pushing me away. You are always too busy or too tired to do anything with me after work. I've tried to talk to you on the plane and you just ignore me. So, no. I don't think you're a good friend when it comes to me. And you know what? I don't care anymore. You can be a bitch. I'm done chasing after you like a dog begging for some attention. We can work together, but we'll never be friends."

JJ's attempt to respond was halted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Garcia walked into the room and stopped when she noticed JJ, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

She saw that Emily gave JJ one last angry look before standing. She walked over and brushed a kiss over Penelope's cheek, "I'm going to go take a shower. Then I'm heading to bed."

Garcia reached out a hand to stop Emily, "But it's early. And what about dinner?"

Emily looked over her shoulder at JJ and then back at Penelope. Garcia felt a wave of sympathy and anger when she saw the tears in her friend's eyes. She smiled softly and spoke in a whisper so JJ wouldn't hear, "Its ok. I understand. I'll come get you when she leaves."

Emily nodded and left the room without another word. Both blondes watched her go and when Garcia heard her bedroom door close she spun to face JJ. Her voice was as harsh as JJ had ever heard it when she spoke, "What did you do to her?"

JJ held up her hands, "Nothing. I came over to see you and she answered the door. She freaked out and then you showed up."

Garcia motioned for JJ to follow her into the kitchen so she could put away the groceries. She sat at the table with JJ when she was finished, "Tell me everything that was said."

After she had finished her explanation, Garcia wasn't sure if she should be angry or laugh at the cluelessness of her friends. She laid her hand over the top of JJ's, "She's right you know. You have been very cold to her. And I know why. You overheard us talking in my office, didn't you?"

JJ nodded, not wanting to admit that she had been eavesdropping.

Garcia smiled slightly, "You thought she was saying that she was in love with Hotch, didn't you?"

JJ nodded again.

Garcia patted JJ's hand gently, "Sweetie, Emily has no interest in our tall, dark and bossman."

JJ asked with confusion, "Then who was she talking about?"

Garcia stood, "That's something you should ask her, but I think you should wait until we get back from Vegas. I would invite you to stay for dinner, but you should probably have a break from each other."

JJ nodded and stood as well, "You're right. I'll see you when you get back."

They exchanged a hug and JJ left while Garcia went to retrieve Emily for dinner.


	3. Good Excuse To Be A Bad Influence On You

"Emily? Isn't that Catherine from the pictures Sara sent?" Garcia asked in a hushed tone.

Emily followed her friend's line of sight and looked closely, "Yeah, I think so. Do you think we should say something?"

Garcia was about to reply when a tall blonde broke away from the rest of the mourners. They watched as she exchanged a few words with Catherine before slapping her across the face. They saw a statuesque brunette pull Alex away, "I think it would be better if we left her alone for now."

Emily nodded and they walked back to the car. They used the car ride back to the hotel to reminisce about all the better times they had shared with Sara. They had settled in for the night when someone began to knock on the door.

Emily threw the blankets off and padded to the door, "I wonder who that could be at this time"

Garcia sat up in bed and pulled the the blanket up around her, "Well answer it and see."

Emily stuck her tongue out at Garcia and pulled the door open. She took two steps back and craned her neck up before jumping at the person in the doorway, "You're here! I thought you couldn't make it."

Tyler held Emily off the ground as she stepped into the room and booted the door shut, "I missed the funeral, but Charlie gave me time off. I know y'all have to work so I'll stay here and get Sara's things sorted."

Tyler set Emily down and bent to hug Garcia, "Hi, E-Tsi how are you doing?"

Garcia smiled up at the huge teenager, "I'm fine. A little wore out and depressed, but I'm okay otherwise. How about you? Are you tired? Did you fly up here?"

Tyler dropped down on the foot of Garcia's bed, "No. I drove the bike. I left Sunday afternoon."

Garcia cooed and moved the blankets aside, "Come on sweetie. You need to sleep. We'll work everything else out tomorrow morning."

Tyler smiled gratefully and kicked off her boots before crawling, fully clothed, into the bed beside Garcia. They all fell asleep within moments.

The next morning it was decided that Tyler would stay in their hotel room while she packed up Sara's stuff and the girls would fly home. They said their goodbyes and Emily and Penelope boarded their plane. When they landed in Virginia, Garcia called Hotch and told him they were back and that they both planned to be at work the next day. Emily drove them back towards Garcia's house so she could pick up her things and drop her friend off. They discussed going back to work and how it might be affected by the loss of Sara. Stopping at a red light, Emily turned to her friend, "We'll get through this. If one of us starts to have a hard time we can always lean on each other, right?"

Emily noticed the light turn green and started to pull through the intersection. Garcia smiled at Emily, "Yeah. You're right. We can... Oh god!"

Emily saw her look of horror and had just enough time to turn her head to see the speeding eighteen wheeler before everything went black.

Garcia wheeled herself into Emily's room and parked beside her bed. She reached out and and picked up Emily's hand. The team had come and gone when they were brought in. Garcia had gotten off with a broken leg. Emily had not fared as well. The truck had hit her side of the car and she had a broken leg and had cracked five ribs. What worried everyone the most was that the doctors knew she had a head injury, but were still running tests to find out how bad it was.

It was their third day in the hospital and Emily had yet to wake up. Garcia would come in as often as she was allowed and sit with her, but the doctors said she wasn't responding to any stimulation. Her brain activity was low and the doctors had told the team that they had to be prepared for Emily to never regain consciousness.

"Hey." Garcia looked up and saw JJ standing in the doorway. She smiled and motioned her closer. JJ walked further into the room, but stayed away from the bed where Emily lay. Garcia had noticed this the first and only other time JJ had come to see Emily. She wouldn't come very far into the room, stayed far away from the bed and spoke in a whisper as if she was afraid to disturb Emily. JJ placed her hand on Garcia's shoulder, "How are you doing?"

Garcia shrugged, "I'm ok. My leg itches in the cast. I'm doing a lot better than her."

JJ looked at the bed then quickly back to Garcia, "What did the doctors say?"

"They said that she may never wake up. They can't tell how badly her brain was damaged. She doesn't respond in anyway to anything." Garcia saw JJ shoot another look at Emily, "I'm going to go to the bathroom. Can you stay with her while I go? Just stay here and talk to her."

Before JJ could respond, Garcia wheeled herself away. JJ stood staring at the bed for a few moments then cautiously stepped forward. She touched the back of Emily's hand and was shocked at how cold and frail it seemed to be. Hoping to make her more comfortable, she leaned over Emily to grasp the blanket and pull it over her. She found herself leaning over the brunette and looking into her face. She brushed a few strands of hair off her face, "Get better please. You and I have a conversation to finish."

JJ jumped when one of the machines hooked to Emily started to go off. She backed away when two nurses and a doctor ran into the room. They checked on her and everything seemed to go back to normal. The nurses left and the doctor turned to JJ, "What happened?"

"I don't know. I pulled the blanket over her and the alarm went off."

The doctor frowned, "The alarm is attached to the machine that measures her brain activity. The alarm went off because there was a spike in activity. There hasn't been any activity like that since she was brought in. Show me exactly what you did before the alarm went off."

JJ nodded and stepped up to the bed again. She repeated her previous actions and when she spoke the alarms again went off. The doctor turned them off and turned to face JJ, "Were the two of you lovers?"

JJ's eyes widened, "No! Why?"

The doctor shrugged, "In the time that she's been here, her brain activity has been very low. This is the first time that she has responded in such a way. I thought that there must be an intimate relationship between the two of you for her to respond to you."

JJ shook her head, "We just work together."

The man didn't look convinced, but continued, "Be that as it may, I would recommend that if you wish for her to wake anytime soon that you spend as much time as you are able talking to her. She responds to your voice and that may be the best bet for her coming out of the coma. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to."

JJ stuck around long enough for Garcia to show up and told her that she was returning to work. She left the hospital with thoughts of everything that had happened over the last week or so circling in her mind. Not knowing what else to do, she resolved to talk to Morgan and see if he could help her sort out her thoughts.

Today was the day that Garcia was finally being released from the hospital. Everyone had wanted to be there when she got out, but the BAU wasn't able to spare all of their agents. Instead, only Morgan was allowed to go. He entered the room and listened as Garcia's doctor finished giving her instructions on what she could and could not do while in the cast. Garcia turned and saw him standing in the doorway, "Hiya, sweetness. What are you doing here?"  
He grinned and walked over to hug her, "Hey baby girl. I'm here to take you home. Hotch let me take off for the day to get you settled. So come on. Let's get you out of here."

They gathered her things and set off in his truck. She sat in the passenger seat chattering excitedly as he drove. When they pulled to a stop outside a building she frowned, "Why are we at your house? Did you forget to feed Clooney?"

He laughed and climbed out. He walked to her side of the truck and helped her out and onto her crutches, "Nope. Until you can get around on your own, you'll be staying with me."

Penelope gave him a slight glare, "I can take care of myself."

Not wanting her to get riled up, he interjected quickly, "I know you can, but it would make me feel better if you were here where I can keep an eye on you." Still seeing some defiance in her eyes, he pleaded, "Please. I couldn't stop you from getting hurt. At least let me help you get better. Besides, this gives me a good excuse to be a bad influence on you."

Penelope felt her resistance melt away. She smiled at his joke, "We'll see who the bad influence is." She allowed him to lead her into his home.


	4. Author's Note 2

Author's Note 2:

I am terribly sorry if it seems that I have abandoned my writings. I have not and am currently trying very hard to finish my latest chapters for them. My only excuse is that my loving wife has blessed me with two new joyous additions to our family. A new baby is always hectic, but with twins, I find that my writing has slipped by the wayside.

As I mentioned, I am working on the new chapters and hope to have them up very soon. I have been working on my Criminal Minds story. I have also given some thought to writing a sequel to Dead on Scene. I am trying to decide if I want to write one focused on Lindsey and Tyler.

I plan to write a Law and Order: SVU story as well. And quite possibly one for NCIS. My indecision as to which to write first has me at a bit of an impasse, but I do plan to finish Here and Now before starting on any others.

Thank you all for your patience.


	5. Waiting On The World To Change

Morgan grunted and the woman beneath him moaned each time he thrust into her. Their pace increased until they reached their peak, gasping for breath. Once he had regained his breath Morgan turned his head into her shoulder and whispered, "I love you Penelope."

* * *

Morgan sat up and shook his head to clear away the dream. He tossed the blanket back and looked down at the front of his pajama pants. Heaving a sigh, he climbed out of bed, "I guess a shower is in order. A cold shower. Man, I hate those dreams."

* * *

Morgan and Garcia had just settled in to eat breakfast when the doorbell rang. Morgan sighed as he set his fork down and stood, "I'll go see who it is."

When Morgan opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of JJ looking at him with a pitiful expression, "I need your help."

Morgan led her inside and joined her on the couch as Garcia wheeled into the room. Once everyone was settled into the room, Morgan turned his attention to JJ, "What's going on?"

JJ took a deep breath, "I think Emily was in love with me."

Morgan looked confused, "Isn't that a good thing? I thought you loved her."

"I do." JJ replied.

"Well, what's the problem then? Shouldn't you be happy that she feels the same way?" he asked.

JJ shrugged, "What if I'm wrong? What if she wakes up and she tells me she hates me? I was horrible to her before the accident."

Garcia spoke up then, "JJ, if she loves you, that won't be a problem. She'll forgive you if you tell her what's been going on. She'll just want you to love her."

JJ smiled, "Thanks. I think you're right. I guess I just needed to hear that from someone else. I'm going to go to the hospital to see her now. Sorry for interrupting your breakfast."

The two friends waved as JJ ran out the door.

* * *

JJ paced back and forth by the hospital bed, throwing glances at the brunette lying there. Finally she plopped into the chair at the bedside and reached out to grasp the hand closest to her. She ran her thumb over the back of Emily's hand as she began to speak, "Emily, I don't know if you can hear me, but the doctor says you might, so I'm going to say this and hope it gets through. I heard you and Garcia talking that day in her office. I thought you were saying that you were in love with Hotchner. I realize now that I was wrong. I'm so sorry for how I treated you. If you can ever forgive me maybe we can try to be at least friends again. I need you even if it is just as my friend, but I need you to wake up. Please wake up Em. I love you."

JJ looked up in shock when the fingers she was holding tightened around her hand. She watched as Emily's eyelids fluttered then opened. She jumped up and leaned over the bed, "Emily, can you hear me?"

Emily's eyes darted around then focused on the blond above her. She smiled and raised her hand to brush the backs of her fingers against JJ's cheek. When she spoke her voice was raspy from disuse and a dry throat, but her words were clear, "I love you too Jennifer"

JJ choked out a sob and threw her arms around the brunette, careful to keep most of her body weight off her injured friend. She sobbed in relief as she felt Emily's good hand run through her hair. Their attention was brought to the door when they heard a gasp. They saw a nurse run from the room calling for a doctor.

While Emily was being looked over by the doctor JJ stood in the hallway and called the team. They were all thrilled to hear that Emily was awake, but were heading to Washington on a case and would not be able to come see her. They told JJ to give her their best and Hotchner gave JJ the day off to make sure that Emily would be alright and asked that she call with any more news. After she finished talking to her team she called Emily's mother.

When the accident had happened the team had been surprised and angered by her lack of response to Emily's condition. Now on the phone with her again, JJ had to bite her tongue to keep from lecturing the woman when she showed little interest in the fact that her daughter was awake and well.

When the doctor called for JJ to come back into the room she noticed that Emily was frowning heavily, "What's wrong?"

The doctor sighed, "I'm afraid I've had to give her some bad news. In her condition it would be unwise for her to be alone. With her closest relative out of the country, it would be best if she stayed here until her injuries heal a little more."

JJ knew the last place Emily would want to stay was the hospital so she considered all the options before asking her next question, "Could she stay with me?"

The doctor smiled gently, "I'm not sure if you know what this will entail. She will need help in and out of bed. She'll need help to bathe and someone will have to be with her at all times to be sure that she does not relapse or injure herself herself further."

JJ nodded, "I can take leave from work and I'll stay with her for as long as she needs me."

The doctor looked between the two of them for a moment then smiled, "I thought you said that the two of you weren't together?"

JJ blushed, "We weren't."

The doctor's smile softened, "Then I'm glad that you have found each other. This world could use a bit more love. I'll go get the paperwork and send in a nurse who will go over everything you need to know before you two leave."

JJ turned to look at Emily who had been silent through the conversation, "Are you OK with this?"

Emily just stared at her for a moment before pulling her close with her good arm. She nuzzled into JJ's hair and smiled, "I love you Jennifer. You are amazing. And, yes, I'm OK with this."

The clearing of a throat behind them caused them to pull apart. The nurse in the doorway raised an eyebrow at their display, "Are the two of you sisters?"

JJ placed her hands on her hips, "No. I'm her girlfriend."

The nurse scowled, "Disgusting. Here." she thrust some pamphlets at JJ, "You can figure this out. I'm not staying in the same room with a pair of dykes."

As the nurse turned to storm out she ran headlong into the doctor. He spoke in a calm, cold voice, "I don't know where you think you are, but in this hospital we do not treat our patients in such a way, no matter what our personal opinions are. I would suggest that you find somewhere else to be. Do not be surprised if you find yourself in front our an ethics committee by the end of your shift."

He stepped aside so she could scurry out of the room. He looked apologetically at the two women, "I'm very sorry about that. Her opinion is not the opinion of everyone here. Unfortunately, waiting for a bigot to change is like waiting on the world to change."

Emily smiled at him, "Thank you. You seem to be awfully accepting of us."

He returned her smile, "My daughter and her partner would be very disappointed if I wasn't. Now let's see what we need to do to get you out of here."


	6. How Much I Love You

Emily sighed as she stared at the ceiling. She was extremely grateful that JJ had offered to let her stay with her until she was well enough, but the blonde was driving her insane. JJ didn't want her to have to worry about needing help if she was out of the room so she had placed Emily in her bed and stayed with her as much as possible. Emily loved that she got to spend so much time with her love, but Emily had discovered very quickly that JJ tends to hover. She was always offering to fluff a pillow, fetch a book, or make a restroom trip five minutes after the last one.

JJ heard the sigh and turned to face the bed from where she had been readying Emily's afternoon dose of medication, "Are you OK? Do you need anything?"

She came to the bed and laid her hand against Emily's forehead as if to check for fever. Emily sighed again and removed JJ's hand. She continued to hold it as she replied, "I'm fine. Its just that... can you sit down for a minute?"

JJ frowned and sat, "Are you sure you're OK?"

Emily stroked the fingers she still held, "Yes, I'm OK. I just want to sit here with you for a little while without you running around trying to do everything. I get that you're just trying to take care of me and I'm grateful, but its getting to be a bit much."

JJ frowned and stood from the bed, dropping Emily's hand, "What do you mean? Are you not happy here?"

Emily pushed herself up as much as she could, "No, JJ. That's not what I mean. I don't think you know just how much I love you and how much I love being here with you. I just don't want you trying so hard. I'm happy just being here with you."

* * *

JJ bounded up the stairs of her home, dropping her bag and keys on the table on her way. She had just returned from work, having gone back to work for the first time just a week ago. Emily was well enough to be left alone at the house, but not well enough to return to work yet. The doctors had oked her to get up and try to walk in small amounts starting today. JJ was in a hurry to be there for Emily when she took those first steps. She burst into the bedroom and saw Emily sitting at the edge of the bed. Emily smiled and carefully stood. She slowly walked to JJ and smiled wider when she reached her. JJ noticed that Emily still favored one side, but was otherwise steady on her feet. Emily leaned in and gave JJ a brief kiss, "Can we go out to eat? I'm starved. And going extremely stir crazy."

JJ shook her head, "No way. You were just now allowed to get out of bed. You're not going anywhere."

Emily shot JJ her best pout, "Please Jennifer? We can go somewhere and sit at the table to eat. I just want to get out of the house for a little while. I promise I'll be good."

JJ tried, but found she could not resist the adorable pout and leaned in to nip lightly at the protruding bottom lip, "Fine. We'll go, but you have to stay seated as much as you can."

* * *

Emily groaned very quietly as she sat in the booth at the restaurant. She tried not to draw JJ's attention, but when she saw JJ's head snap around, she knew she had failed. Before JJ could speak, Emily cut her off, "I'm fine. I just got a little stiff. I can stay in the booth and be OK."

JJ seemed reluctant, but gave in, "Fine, but if it hurts too bad, tell me and we'll go."

Emily beamed at her and reached over the table to hold her hand, "OK. Now, let's enjoy our first official date."

JJ raised an eyebrow, "Date? Who said this was a date?"

Emily drew her hand back to herself and a look of doubt crossed her face, "I thought you wanted to be with me. And I thought that with this being our first time out together like this, it could be our first date."

JJ smiled at Emily's nervous babble and retook Emily's hand, "I want to be with you and I would love to have this be our first date. I was teasing you."

Emily smiled tentatively, "Really?"

JJ nodded and Emily grinned as she lifted JJ's hand to place a lingering kiss on the back. They sat gazing into each others eyes for long moments like a pair of lovesick teenagers. They were interrupted by the waiter coming over to take their orders.

They ordered and once the food arrived they spent the meal conversing and lightly flirting. They talked about their pasts, work and their hopes for the future. When the meal was over, they stood and made their to the front to pay the check. They climbed into the car and held hands in silence while JJ drove them back to the house. Once there, they exited the car and JJ had to assist Emily up the stairs to the bedroom.

Emily gingerly lay back on the bed as JJ grabbed her medication, "I told you this wasn't a good idea."

Emily swallowed the pills and sighed, "JJ, its fine. I'm sore and stiff, but it was worth it to be able to go out and have a nice dinner with you."

JJ looked unsure as she pulled her pajamas from her dresser, "Are you sure you're OK? I can stay home tomorrow."

Emily smiled lovingly at JJ, "Baby, its OK. You can go to work. I'll be fine."

JJ nodded and walked into the bathroom to change. Emily half wished that she had stayed in the room to change, but at the same time, she knew that if she saw JJ undressed there would be nothing she could about. It would just leave her turned on and frustrated.

When JJ came back into the bedroom she took another set of pajamas out of the dresser and approached Emily, "Its a good thing you're not shy."

Emily grinned as JJ helped her out of her clothes and into the pajamas, "Why would I be shy? Besides, its not like I could do this myself. And I like having you touch me."

JJ finished buttoning the shirt and leaned down to kiss Emily, "Incorrigible."

What was meant to be a brief press of lips quickly progressed. JJ sat on the bed next to Emily while keeping their mouths fused together. As their tongues began to mingle, Emily turned her upper body to face JJ more fully before pulling away with a hiss of pain.

JJ very carefully lowered Emily to lay on the bed, "Are you OK? Where does it hurt? Should I call the doctor?"

Emily grabbed the hands JJ had been running softly down her torso, checking for obvious injuries, "Its OK JJ. I just pulled my ribs a little. I guess having you touch me didn't work very well."

JJ sighed in relief, "If you're sure you're OK, maybe we should just go to sleep."

Emily smiled and gently pulled JJ into the bed with her and into a comfortable position. They settled in and JJ carefully laid her head on Emily's good shoulder and together they were asleep within minutes.


	7. Forever And For Always

**A/N: I am really sorry about the long wait. Things at my house are a tad hectic right now. I am trying to update as I can, but things will probably be a bit slow for a while. Sorry for the inconvenience. **

* * *

Emily felt like banging her head repeatedly on her desk. She had finally been allowed to return to work, but was restricted to desk duty. She was going to be stuck on desk duty until the doctor cleared her for active status. Since she had returned to work, JJ had gone into the field four times. JJ had left just this morning for St. Luis to catch a murderer. Seeing JJ off was growing more difficult each time as their relationship progressed.

They were still limited by Emily's healing injuries and had only had a minor amount of physical intimacy. However, their feelings for each other had grown deeper each day. They spent as much of their free time as possible talking and connecting, strengthening their budding relationship.

Finally having enough of sitting around worrying about JJ, Emily stood and made her way to Garcia's office. She found the tech staring at a computer screen filled with code that Emily had no understanding of. She plopped unnoticed into a chair in the back of the office. She waited until Garcia stopped reading to rub her tired eyes to make her presence known, "Hey. What's going on?"

Garcia squeaked and jumped in her chair, "Oh god. Don't do that. You scared the crap out of me!"

Emily chuckled, "Sorry."

Garcia mock glared at her friend, "What was it you needed? Or did you just come by to give me a heart attack?"

"No. I came by to ask how you deal with this. How do you watch Morgan go into the field without going nuts?"

Garcia sighed, "I distract myself as best as possible and wait for his every phone call. There is nothing else that I can do."

Emily groaned, "I'm going insane. I know JJ is rarely in any real danger, but I've always been around to keep an eye on her to know she's OK."

Garcia reached out to take one of Emily's hands, "I know sweetie, but you have to trust that JJ knows how to take care of herself and that the team will look out for her."

"I get that and I try to remember that, but I keep drifting back to thoughts of whether or not she's going to be OK."

"And you're going to. The person you love is in a dangerous line of work. All you can do is wait and hope. When she comes home you give her the biggest, tightest hug you can and tell her how much you've missed her and that you love her."

Emily frowned slightly, "I've been wondering about that. Why haven't you told Morgan that you're in love with him? You spend a lot of time with him and you're feelings are so obvious. Why not just say something?"

"Like what? He's always got a beautiful woman around and he's content with friendship. I'll love him forever and for always, but why would I chance losing a best friend by telling him that? I'd rather be his friend than his nothing."

"At least think about it?"

Garcia sighed, "Fine. Now, scoot. We both have work to do while the ones we love are out battling the scum of the world."

* * *

JJ listened as Morgan completed his usual flirtatious phone call with Garcia. Seeing the huge smile on his face she made sure no one was within earshot before asking her question, "Why don't you just tell her?"

Morgan sighed, he didn't need to ask what she meant. They had had this talk before, "You know why. She doesn't think of my like that. We joke, but we don't mean it."

JJ shook her head, "I don't think so. I think she does. There is too much there for it all to be a joke."

Morgan shrugged, "Nah. Its just what we do. She flirts with everyone, even you and Em."

"Yeah, but its not the same. The way she treats you is different. She always asks about you and spends a lot of time with you. She even let you make her stay at your house after the accident and she's too stubborn to have done that for anyone else."

Morgan shrugged again, "She's my best friend. It only makes sense that we act a little different with each other."

JJ grinned, "A little different? No one I know acts like that with their best friends. You two give off so much sexual tension people don't even have to be in the same room to feel it."

Morgan thought about and sighed, "Even if she had any interest in me it would be hard to convince her to give me a chance. She sees me as this great womanizer with a different woman every week. She thinks I'm a playboy. If I told her I was interested, she would think it was a joke or that I just wanted to sleep with her."

JJ smiled and patted the back of his hand, "Well then you'll have to make a bit of an effort. Hopefully once she realizes you aren't giving up on her she'll believe that you have real feelings for her."

Morgan rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture, "I'm not sure. I do love her, but I'd rather have my best friend than to drive her off by telling her that and she never wants to speak to me again. Do you really think I should?"

JJ nodded, "Absolutely. You should never pass up the chance for love. I think you two would be very happy together if you would take the chance and say something."

"I'll think about it." Morgan sighed.

JJ smiled at her friend then pulled out her phone when it buzzed. Morgan watched as her face lit up and she eagerly typed a reply to the text message. When he chuckled she looked up at him questioningly, "What?"

He chuckled again, "You and Emily. The two of you are perfect for each other. I can see the two of you being together for a very long time."

"Really? I hope so. I really love her." JJ replied.

Morgan smiled, "I know. You can almost see the little hearts floating around your heads when you think about each other. Its almost sickening."

JJ stuck her tongue out at him and they shared a laugh before returning to work.

* * *

JJ was bouncing on her heels as she waited for the doors of the elevator to open. The rest of the team tried hide their smiles as they watched her barely contained excitement. When the doors finally opened they all saw Emily standing there waiting. JJ squealed and bounded into Emily's open arms.

After having been gone for nearly three months on the case, it was the longest they had been apart since becoming a couple. JJ snuggled further into Emily's arms and whispered, "I missed you."

Emily pulled back to smile at her, "I missed you too."

They leaned forward and shared a kiss that was interrupted by the applause of their team members. They faced the team looking abashed and watched in shock when Morgan and Rossi pulled out their wallets and handed Hotch money.

Hotch counted the money as he laughed at them, "We took bets as to how long you could hold out from the public display when we returned. Rossi thought you'd make it to one of your houses. Morgan bet the parking lot. I figured you'd make it no further than the office."

The team laughed as the girls shrugged and kissed once more. When everyone had calmed down, the team decided to go out to dinner together to celebrate the successful closing of a case and their long anticipated return to their own city and homes.


	8. Christmas Together

JJ watched with a critical eye as Emily hung the lights on the tree. Emily's doctor had given her an all clear and she had returned to active duty at work, but JJ was constantly watching for any sign of pain. Emily knew JJ watched her and found it endearing if a bit overly paranoid. There was one thing about JJ's concern that bothered her more than anything else though. She and the blond had been dating for nearly six months now and JJ still allowed only minimal intimacy between them.

Emily felt as if she was slowly being teased to death by her girlfriend. They slept together almost every night, rarely going back to Emily's apartment. On several occasions while running late for work they had even shared a shower. Emily knew JJ kept her at arm's length, so to speak, out of worry of her further injuring herself.

Emily smiled over her shoulder at the blonde, "Baby, can you bring me something to drink?"

JJ seemed leery of leaving her alone on a ladder, but sighed and went into the kitchen. Emily watched until she was gone and hurried down the ladder. She quickly pulled a small present from her pocket and stashed it amongst the other gifts. Hearing JJ approaching she climbed back up and finished the last string of lights as the blonde returned with a cup of coffee in each hand.

Emily smiled and joined JJ on the couch. They settled in together to watch the holiday specials that were playing. Midway through Frosty Emily heard JJ sigh. She turned to face her girlfriend and found her staring off into the distance, "Baby? Everything OK?"

JJ sighed again and faced Emily, "I was just thinking about the holidays. It will be nice to have the whole team over. I can't wait to have everyone together."

Emily smiled, "I was rather amazed that we all managed to get leave for the weekend. Do we have all the presents?"

"Yep. We have one for each of the team and about fifteen for Jack."

Emily laughed, "That poor boy is going to be spoiled rotten. I overheard Penelope tell Morgan that she had gotten him at least twenty. Hotch is going to have his hands full."

JJ shrugged, "Oh well. Hotch should be happy that Jack has so many aunts and uncles that love him."

They fell back into silence as they watched the movie before JJ spoke again, "Emily? Have you ever thought about having children?"

Emily muted the TV and turned on the couch to face JJ fully, "Yeah. At first I didn't want any because I was afraid of what kind of parent I'd make. People say that you become your parents and I would never want to do that to a child. But with the cases we work and some of the things we've seen have made me realize that genetics don't dictate who we are. We chose to be the person we are. Our past may help shape us, but it doesn't define us. My only concern with having children now is that I wouldn't be home often enough to see it grow up and be there for it."

"With two parents wouldn't it make sense that you would have someone else there to help you raise the baby?"

"I guess your right. I would like to have children. I think it would be very rewarding to be able to have a life that I can help to grow and shape into a wonderful person. And I would have someone that I could love unconditionally and that would love me back. What about you?"

JJ's smile grew wistful as she replied, "I would love to have kids. I want at least three. I loved growing up with my siblings. Even when we fought or disagreed, we always knew that we loved each other."

"Baby, if you want at least three then I have only one thing to say." Emily said, "We're going to need a bigger house."

* * *

JJ watched as her extended family laughed and joked with each other while they sat in her living room. This was the first time they had all managed to do Christmas together and everything was perfect. Penelope was dressed as one of Santa's elves and Rossi was the jolly fat man. Garcia had brought along reindeer antlers that she had passed out to everyone. Little Jack was sitting in Morgan's lap as the man read him a children's Christmas story.

JJ smiled when Hotch laughed when Jack had to push his Santa hat back up out of his eyes for the fifth time. She loved seeing her stoic boss laugh. He didn't do that enough. When Morgan was finished reading, Jack bounced out of his lap and ran up to JJ. He threw his small arms around her legs and looked up at her with an adorable pout, "Aunt Jen, can we open the presents now? Please? I was really good. And I ate all my green beans."

JJ laughed and bent over to scoop him into her arms, "We can open the presents now. If we ask real nice maybe we can talk Uncle Dave to pass them out. After all, he is dressed like Santa."

JJ sat on the floor in front of Emily, who was seated on the couch, and leaned back against her legs. She smiled when Emily reached over to straighten the boy's hat then ran her fingers gently through JJ's hair before leaning back into her seat. Rossi sat in front of the tree and began sorting through the gifts. The adults had all agreed earlier that Jack would receive his gifts before they traded theirs.

"Wait! I want to give mine to everybody first." Jack said as he wiggled out of JJ's grip. He ran to the tree and pulled out a stack of gifts that he had obviously wrapped himself. He passed the first one to Rossi and waited until he unwrapped an oversized coffee mug with an Italian flag on it, "Daddy says that flag is where you get the funny words from and you drink coffee a lot. Now you won't have to have as many cups 'cus this one is so big."

Rossi laughed and gave the boy a hug and Jack handed his next gift to Spencer. He unwrapped it to find a clip-on book light with knights all over it, "You can read with it in the dark. And look, it has knights on it 'cus you help stop the bad guys too."

Spencer smiled and gave Jack a hug that held little of the awkwardness that he usually had. Jack smiled as he handed Garcia her gift next. She giggled in delight when she unwrapped a troll doll like those she kept in her office, "Its so you can have one to carry with you always. This one is small so you don't have to leave it at work when you go places."

Garcia gave him a big kiss and he gave an odd shaped package to Morgan. Morgan received two small Nerf footballs, "The blue one is so you can play football with Clooney. The purple one is so you can play with people. Clooney has his own so the people one don't have doggie drool on it."

Morgan laughed and hugged the little boy, "Thanks little man. I'll be sure to tell him that you gave him a football of his own."

Jack handed the next gift to his father. Garcia had snuck him out of the office one day while she was watching him to help him buy it and had kept it hidden at her house so Hotch wouldn't see it. Hotch smiled as he removed the reindeer antlers to put on the baseball hat that said '#1 Dad'. He then placed the antlers back on over the cap, "You're my only daddy, but I think you're still the best one."

Hotch gave his son a hug and the little boy then handed JJ a gift. She immediately put on the Redskins jersey and pecked him on the cheek. He presented his last gift to Emily. She opened her gift and stared silently at the children's starter chemistry set, "You said that you were a nerd and nerds are cool. But you're one of the knight people too who catch the bad guys. So this is supposed to help you find the bad guys with NDA."

Emily scooped the little boy up and gave him a tight hug before smiling down at him, "I love it. Thank you. Will you come over and play with it with me sometimes?"

Jack nodded excitedly, "I can help catch the bad guys too. And I can be a nerd."

Everyone laughed at his excitement over becoming a nerd and they manged to get him to settle back into JJ's lap so Rossi could pass him his presents.

After two hours of the small boy opening gift after gift he was carefully carried upstairs and laid in the spare bedroom, having fallen asleep amongst his toys. The adults cleaned up the masses of wrapping paper and sorted the toys before sharing the gifts they had bought for one another. The last gift had been given when Rossi noticed a small box nearly hidden by the skirting of the tree, "Hey guys. There's one more, but there's no name on it."

He held it up as JJ walked over to see it. She was joined by Emily who kneeled next to Rossi to take it from him, "I know who its supposed to be for."

The entire team fell silent as they watched her turn to face JJ while still on one knee. JJ gasped when Emily opened the small box to reveal a three karat princess cut engagement ring, "Jennifer Jareau, I love you with all that I am and on the promise that my love for you will last our lifetime and further, I ask you, would you do the honor of being my wife?"

Emily nearly fell back into Rossi's lap with the force that JJ used to throw herself at the brunette. JJ smothered her face with kisses and tears as she chanted, "Yes, yes, yes!" over and over again. The team applauded when Emily slipped the ring onto her finger and they shared a tender kiss to seal their engagement.

* * *

Things had calmed down quite a bit and the adults were enjoying a glass of eggnog when the doorbell rang. Emily pressed JJ back down when she tried to stand, "I'll get it baby."

Emily stood in absolute shock when she pulled the door open. She was pretty sure her mouth had fallen open as well.

"Emily, is that any way to greet someone at the door? Close your mouth it looks quite unbecoming. And what is that ridiculous thing on your head?" the person at the door said.

For the second time that evening the team went silent when they heard Emily's shocked gasp of "Mother?"


	9. I Don't Know

"Yes Emily. Now, would it not be the proper thing to do to invite me inside? There's no need to stand here with the door open." Elizabeth chastised.

Emily was too shocked to see her mother to do more than step aside to let her in and close the door behind her.

Emily followed her mother into the living room where Elizabeth stopped short when she noticed the team, "Oh. Excuse me for barging in on your holiday celebration. I was unaware that Emily and Jennifer would have guests."

Everyone exchanged pleasantries with Elizabeth while Emily plopped back into her seat on the couch and rubbed her temples wearily. Once the greetings had subsided Emily sighed, "Mother, why are you here? And how did you know I would be here not at my apartment?"

Elizabeth waved away her daughter's questions, "Why I am here can wait until you no longer have guests. As to how I knew you would be here, I stopped by your apartment and you were not there. I knew you would be here so I came by. And by the way, congratulations on your engagement. You and Jennifer make a stunning couple."

The team stared at her in shock and she smiled when she noticed this, "Please. I may be old, but I am not blind. I have known the two of you were going to eventually become a couple if one of you ever gathered the courage to say something to the other."

Seeing that everyone continued to stare silently at her, Elizabeth spoke to her daughter again, "I see no reason to intrude on the celebration any further tonight. Emily, I have something very important to discuss with you. I expect a phone call tomorrow to arrange a meeting for sometime this week, understood?" once Emily nodded, still in shock, Elizabeth continued, "Excellent. Happy holidays everyone. Have a nice night. Oh, and Jennifer? Welcome to the family."

The silence stretched until the door closed behind the ambassador Finally JJ found her voice. She turned to face Emily and squeaked, "Did the ambassador, your mother, just welcome me to the family? As in, the Prentiss' family?"

All Emily could do was nod.

* * *

JJ watched from the bed as her fiancee paced the length of the bedroom repeatedly. The brunette had remained calm long enough to see everyone off and to get ready for bed, but now she was going nuts. Finally, JJ sighed, "Emily, stop. You're going to wear out the flooring. Come sit down and talk to me."

Emily flopped into bed next to the blond, "What do you think she wants? And how did she know about us? Why is she OK with this? And how is it..."

Emily's words stemmed off when JJ pressed a finger against her lips, "Shh. If you call her tomorrow and set up the meeting she wants, I'm sure you can ask her all that yourself."

Emily rolled onto her side to face JJ, "But what if its something bad? You know the only reason she usually contacts me is so she can force me into attending one of her functions or something. I hate those things. You know how much I hate politics."

JJ smiled softly and combed her fingers through Emily's hair, "I know babe. But if its something you don't want to do, just tell her no. If you need to have an excuse as to why you can't attend, tell her you already have plans with me that can't be canceled. And if you need me to be there when you talk to her I can do that."

Closing her eyes to try to relax her frazzled nerves, "I wouldn't subject you to a meeting with my mother. I love you too much for that."

JJ laughed and bent to kiss Emily''s forehead, "That's not the point babe. The point is that I love you enough to subject myself to a meeting with your mother. I want to be there for you in every way. This is just one of the more unpleasant ways that might come up."

"Hmm." Emily sighed as she felt herself slowly relaxing into sleep curled up with JJ in her arms, "I'll call her tomorrow and we can see what she wants. We can meet her for lunch or something."

JJ smiled when she felt Emily fall asleep. She was happy that even half asleep, Emily had thought enough of their relationship to say 'we' when discussing the meeting with her mother. JJ was glad to have been supportive and would stand by the woman she loved, but she had to admit to herself that she was not looking forward to what would come of this. Emily was always tense after dealing with her mother and JJ thought she was cold to her only daughter. Not to mention that in some ways, Elizabeth Prentiss intimidated JJ a little.

* * *

Emily was pacing across the living room floor while JJ watched her from the couch. Today was the day Emily's mother was supposed to be coming over for the meeting she had requested. It was only three days ago that she had showed up on the doorstep. Emily had wanted to put off the meeting for long as possible, but JJ had convinced her it would be better to get it over with as soon as possible. So now they were waiting for Elizabeth to come to the house for lunch.

JJ sighed as Emily again passed her as she paced. JJ reached out and snatched Emily by the hand and pulled her down onto the seat next to her, "Emily, babe, calm down. We'll handle whatever happens together."

Emily sighed and laid her head on JJ's shoulder, "I know baby. I just wish she would get here already."

JJ chuckled dryly, "Has your mother ever been late or early for anything?"

Emily joined her in the dry humor, "No. I guess not. That would be highly improper."

For the next few minutes they managed to keep each other distracted by trading jokes back and forth starting with Elizabeth and progressing to the team, "Do you think Rossi is as anal about his house as he is his office? Can't you just picture him organizing his underwear drawer according to type and color..."

The rest of JJ's observation was cut off by the ringing of the doorbell. They gulped as they looked at the time and realized who must be at the door. JJ stood and took a deep breath before pulling the door open, "Hello ambassador. Please come in."

Elizabeth entered and removed her coat, "Thank you dear. I was happy you accepted my request for a meeting."

Emily set the food onto the table as they all sat. She waited for her mother to begin speaking, but when it seemed that Elizabeth had no intention of doing so she cleared her throat, "Mother. Why are you here?"

Elizabeth sighed, "Do you remember my birthday?"

Emily frowned in confusion, "Of course. It was last month. I sent you a card as I always do."

Elizabeth nodded, "That is exactly the reason I am here. On of the staff brought me the card and I set it aside without opening it. She asked me why I wasn't more eager to open the birthday card my only child had sent to me and I told her that I already knew what it would say. She inquired as to how and I told her that it had said the same thing for the last ten years since you had moved away."

Emily still seemed confused so Elizabeth continued, "I showed her the inside of the card which read..."

"Happy birthday Mother." the phrase was spoken in unison by both Prentiss women.

Elizabeth sighed, "Precisely. The card has said the same thing for over ten years. Nothing more, nothing less. The woman retrieved something from her own desk and showed me the birthday card she had received from her son. It was much more personal and contained details about his life and that of his family. She asked me what I knew of your life and I gave her the details I knew of you. The problem she found with that is the details of your life I could give her were almost strictly from your professional career. She proceeded to ask me a series of questions I found I could not answer and they led me here to see you."

JJ spoke up for herself and her fiancee, "What questions could she have asked that would cause you to want a meeting?"

Elizabeth fiddled with her necklace in the first nervous gesture they could remember seeing from her, "Emily dear, what is your favorite color? Your favorite food? What was your favorite cartoon as a child? She asked me questions about you as a person and about things from your childhood and I found myself unable to answer. What sort of mother does that make me? I don't know anything about my only child and I have no one to blame but myself. I suppose what I truly came here for is another chance. I know I've never been a good mother to you and with the holidays and the fact that you are starting your own family by getting engaged, I was hoping that you would give me a chance to be a part of your life."

Emily turned her head to see that JJ seemed to be just as shocked as she was. She cleared her throat several times before she was able to speak, "I... I'm not sure what to say."

If they had been shocked before, they were absolutely floored to see the tears welling in Elizabeth's eyes, "Please just say I haven't lost you. I'm so sorry it took me so long to realize what I had. I want to make it up to you. Please just say that you'll give me a chance to do that."

Emily took a deep breath and glanced once more at JJ, reading her thoughts through her facial expression, "I suppose we could use some help with planning the wedding and finding a new place together."

Elizabeth laughed delightedly even as a tear slipped down her cheek. She stood and rounded the table and gripped both surprised women in a tight hug.


	10. I Do

JJ stared in absolute shock at her fiancee, "You want to what?"

Emily grinned at the blond, "I said I want to get married on Valentine's day."

JJ plopped back on the couch and blinked, "But, why?"

Emily sat next to her and reached for her hand, "Well, Valentine's day is supposed to be a day that celebrates love and what better day to commit ourselves to our love?"

JJ was silent for a moment as she considered it before she leaned over and pecked Emily on the cheek, "You get to tell your mother that she only has until Valentine's to plan the wedding."

* * *

Emily sat back and tried to be invisible. At first JJ had been totally calm about the preparations for the wedding until Elizabeth had gotten a hold of her. Now Emily was hiding from not only her overly detail oriented mother, but her fiancee who had turned into Bridezilla.

When a large hand clapped her on the shoulder, Emily nearly jumped out of her chair. She turned to see Morgan standing with his finger to his lips. He waved her to follow him out of the house. She climbed into his truck at his prompting. Once he was down the street without them having been caught, they breathed a sigh of relief. Emily faced Morgan with an eyebrow raised, "So where are we going?"

Morgan grinned at her, "I thought you might want to get away from the nut house so, Pen and I have arranged for an escape. Don't worry, no strippers involved."

Emily just shrugged and decided to trust her friend.

When they pulled up to Morgan's house Emily grinned when she saw the obviously Garcia created banner stretched across the doorway that said 'Retreat From The Insanity For Emily And Co.'

Inside, Emily was treated to the smell of pizza and the sight of Clooney and Garcia lounging on the couch with a stack of pizza from Emily's favorite pizzeria and her favorite show on the giant TV. Emily plopped onto the couch next to Garcia and grinned as Morgan handed her a beer and a plate of pizza before he took his own seat. Emily propped her feet up on the coffee table and sighed, "This is perfect."

* * *

JJ paced back and forth across the floor of the loving room. She was close to pulling her hair out in frustration, "I don't get it! She has been gone for hours! Why isn't she here? Why hasn't she called?"

"JJ dear, sit down. I'm sure that Emily will be here soon. And when she gets here, I'm sure she will have a good explanation as to why she has been gone so long." Elizabeth stated from her seat on the couch, "Come, sit. All the planning is done. All there is to do now is to wait for the day to arrive. You will soon be married. How are you feeling?"

JJ sat and sighed, "A little nervous honestly. I love Emily completely and I want to marry her. Its just... this is a big thing."

"JJ, if you love her, then there is nothing to worry about."

"I know. I want to do this. I'm ready to do this. Part of me just can't believe that it is really happening."

Before Elizabeth could reply, they heard the front door open and Emily and Morgan's hushed voices from the front hallway. Elizabeth frowned and went to see what was going on. She was greeted by the sight of them holding each other up and giggling as they shushed each other. She cleared her throat and saw them whip around to look at her. Morgan glanced down at his bare wrist then back at Emily, "Wow. Its getting late. And the cab won't wait forever. I should probably be getting home. I'll see you later."

Emily latched onto his arm, "No! You can't go! Don't leave me here alone with them!"

Morgan just laughed and and stumbled out the door. Emily slowly turned to face her mother and wasn't fast or sober enough to dodge when Elizabeth grabbed her by the ear, "Emily Prentiss! What has gotten into you? Do you have any idea how worried we have been?"

JJ stood and met the two at the start of the living room, "Thank you Elizabeth. I can take it from here."

Elizabeth smiled at her soon to be daughter-in-law, "Of course dear. I'll be on my way. Call if you need anything."

JJ waited until she heard the door close before studying Emily. She took in the glassy eyes, the wavering stance, and the sheepish expression. That in addition to the reek of alcohol let JJ know that any discussion would have to wait until the next day after Emily had time to sober up. She led Emily into the bathroom by the hand without a word and helped her into the shower. After she made sure that Emily's teeth were brushed then got her to put her pajamas on. Once Emily was settled in the bed JJ smiled slightly as she fell asleep almost immediately. JJ got herself ready for bed and joined Emily. She had to suppress a giggle when even in a drunken sleep, Emily reached for her and pulled her into her arms.

* * *

Emily groaned as she awoke. The curtains were closed, but even the smallest amount of light made her pounding head worse. She carefully and gradually opened her eyes and squinted at the bedside table, trying to read the clock. She was extremely grateful to see a glass of water and aspirin waiting for her. She took the pills and chugged the water before stumbling out of the bedroom.

In the kitchen she found JJ sipping a cup of coffee and reading a magazine. She dropped into a chair and laid her head on the table. She lifted her head to stare in curiosity at her fiancee when she heard JJ giggle.

JJ smiled tenderly at her, "Sorry baby, but you should have known better than to drink so much. Are you well enough to tell me where you were last night and why you and Morgan were so drunk when you finally made it home?"

Emily grimaced and laid her head back down then spoke, "I was at Morgan's house with him and Garcia. We sat around and watched TV, ate pizza, and drank beer."

JJ frowned, "Uh huh. And why is it that you felt the need to just leave and not tell me then stay gone for hours without letting me know where you were and if you were OK?"

Emily picked her head up when she heard the underlying tone of worry, "I'm so sorry babe. I should have called. I didn't mean for you to worry. I just needed to get away for awhile."

JJ considered this then sighed, "I suppose your mother and I did get carried away. At least the planning is finished. All that's left now is for everyone to show up at the right place at the right time."

Emily sighed in relief that she hadn't put herself in the doghouse then groaned as a car alarm down the street made her head pound.

JJ stood to put her coffee cup in the sink then helped Emily to stand, "Let's get you back to bed. We don't have anything to do today so you have time to sleep this off."

* * *

Garcia held tightly to Morgan's hand as JJ walked past them down the aisle. She sniffled into a handkerchief as Emily took JJ's hand and the couple smiled at each other. The two were beautiful as they both said 'I do' and exchanged a sweet kiss to seal their new bond.

JJ and Emily joined hands and made their way back down the aisle and through the doors of the church. Stopping on the steps, they waited until all their friends had joined them outside. JJ grinned happily as she turned her back to them and tossed the bouquet over her shoulder. Garcia gasped in surprise as the bouquet landed in her hands. She blushed when Morgan grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. They turned their attention back to the newlyweds as they climbed into the limo waiting for them and rode away.

Morgan looked at Garcia and laughed, "I can only imagine what those two will get up to in the next three weeks on their honeymoon."


End file.
